1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to methods and systems for expanding input device functionality, and more particularly, methods and systems for improving interaction between a game controller and a gaming base system by expanding the capabilities of the controller.
2. Description of the Related Art
The video game industry has seen many changes over the years. As computing power has expanded, developers of video games have likewise created game software that takes advantage of these increases in computing power. To this end, video game developers have been coding games that incorporate sophisticated operations and mathematics to produce a very realistic game experience.
Example gaming platforms, may be the Sony Playstation®, Sony Playstation2® (PS2), and Sony Playstation3® (PS3), each of which is sold in the form of a game console. As is well known, the game console is designed to connect to a monitor (usually a television) and enable user interaction through handheld controllers. The game console is designed with specialized processing hardware, including a CPU, a graphics synthesizer for processing intensive graphics operations, a vector unit for performing geometry transformations, and other glue hardware, firmware, and software. The game console is further designed with an optical disc tray for receiving game compact discs for local play through the game console. Online gaming is also possible, where a user can interactively play against or with other users over the Internet.
As game complexity continues to intrigue players, game and hardware manufacturers have continued to innovate to enable additional interactivity and computer programs. A growing trend in the computer gaming industry is to develop games that increase the interaction between user and the gaming system. One way of accomplishing a richer interactive experience is to use wireless game controllers whose movement is tracked by the gaming system in order to track the player's movements and use these movements as inputs for the game. Another way to improve the interactive experience is by providing the user with controllers with better communication capabilities.
However, input device development processes are usually lengthy and adding new features requires large investments in time and research. Further, adding features and complexity to input devices also raises the final cost to the user, which may decrease the number of potential customers. Still yet, some features may be useful for just a small community of players.
It is in this context that embodiments of the invention arise.